


Lost Waves

by KittenMitten



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pirate, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety Attacks, Bad Technoblade, Brief mentions of kidnapping, Captain!Dream, Captain!Technoblade, Fluff and Angst, GeorgeNotFound-centric (Video Blogging RPF), Hurt/Comfort, I'm Bad At Tagging, Long for him, M/M, No Smut, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Prisoner!George, Psychological Trauma, Unreliable Narrator, not for long though, not for you
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-14 08:29:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28667763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KittenMitten/pseuds/KittenMitten
Summary: George doesn't know why Technoblade spared him when he was perfectly fine with slaughtering his whole village. Technoblade isn't known for his "merciful" side. So what exactly made George so special to keep?
Relationships: Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Karl Jacobs/Sapnap
Comments: 13
Kudos: 93





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! This is my first fic so don't expect anything too great, but I hope you enjoy it regardless! 
> 
> Also! A quick warning before you read: This fic was written on a whim. I know where I want it to end but I got none of the middle planned. So if you decide to stick around please bear with me.

Life wasn’t always this bad. George used to live in a nice little village, with nice people, and a nice family. It was peaceful. It was nice. Then a damn pirate had to ruin it all. A ruthless pirate that enjoyed the slaughter a little too much. Technoblade took an interest in his village for some damn reason and ever since then, George’s life has been nothing but hell. He doesn’t even know why Technoblade decided to ‘spare’ and kidnap him. Whenever he thinks back to that day all he remembers is fire, blood, and a feeling of pure exhaustion, with his kidnapper right in the middle. Although, he does remember being rudely knocked out so he doesn’t even know if his family is alive, but he doesn’t let himself hope. 

He mourned them when he got his bearings on his surroundings. It’s been 15 years now and he’s 24, so hes had lots of time to move on but it still hurts to think about. George brushes the faded and torn memories away to focus on the task at hand.

He was currently setting the sails underneath the watchful eyes of the Quartermaster, Philza. George had heard idle gossip from the crew that Philza used to be a kind, upstanding man until he was forced to off his son for some government-related reason. They say it broke something in him. While still mild-mannered and respectful, he now laughs as he brings destruction and death. Perfect material for the closest ally of Technoblade.

George sighed as he finished with the sails and was immediately handed a mop. 

“Can’t I at least eat first? I did the sails and I didn’t mess up this time!” George pleaded. He had woken up early to do the sails and with barely anything in his stomach from the last night, he was fucking starving.

Philza regarded him with a blank stare before he sighed. “Fine. Make it quick.”

“Thank you” George breathed out a sigh of relief as he quickly made his way to the food storage, making sure not to brush too close to Philza as he went. Although nothing would be there when he looks, he’d sometimes feel a brush of something when he’s too close to Philza. He didn’t know what it was and he learned to not ask. 

When he made it to the hall, he swiped a biscuit and a piece of salted meat. Not the greatest breakfast but it’d have to do. The biscuit was dry as hell and the meat tasted like ass but he’d gotten used to it at this point. He remembered being young and refusing to eat at first since it was nasty. They never tried to force him to eat, they just let his hunger explain that it’s eat or starve. Eventually, the hunger pains grew to be too much and he gave in. After a year or 2, he got used to the taste.

Still tastes like shit though.

He finished up and went back outside to meet Philza. When he got back on the main deck he saw Philza seemingly having a deep conversation with Technoblade. George immediately slowed down and slowly got closer until he finally stopped and waited. Not too close to hear them which was easier since they were talking low. Technoblade doesn’t like eavesdroppers and he’s made that clear many times. After what seems like several minutes, Philza nods and Technoblade walks past George, barely sparing him a glance. Now with his nerves shot through the roof, George gets closer to Philza.

“I finished eating, which part of the ship do you want me to start mopping?” George gently probed when Philza didn’t say anything. Philza seemed to study him for a second before he shook his head. 

“Forget it. Go below deck and stay there until you’re called.” George’s anxiety shot through the roof. He’s either in deep trouble, or there’s about to be other people around, friendly or not, usually not. They make him stay below deck when they’re stopping at a city too but he doesn’t see any land so that can’t be it. He figured he must have hesitated a second too long as Philza turned a cold glare his direction.

“Do I have to repeat myself?”

“No! No. I’m going” George immediately headed below and sat on his designated hammock, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart. Hopefully he wasn’t in trouble. He tried to go as fast as he could so he could get back to Philza. Did Technoblade notice and get pissed? Does he want to punish him?

All these thoughts swirled around George’s head until he felt something collide with the ship that caused his hammock to swing a bit. Ah, so someone is trying to challenge Technoblade. George figured he wouldn’t have to wait much longer then. Anyone that approaches the ship as a hostile tends to be taken care of quickly and George is left to clean up the mess. Although not looking forward to the aftermath, he was glad that he wasn’t in trouble. Technoblade must have spotted a ship heading towards them and that’s what he was telling Philza. They needed to prepare.

As time dragged on, George grew bored and figured he’d rest his eyes. They’re usually finished by now and someone would come to get him but he wasn’t worried. Technoblade never loses, and he doubts that he’ll start now.

He probably got about under an hour of sleep before he was woken up to footsteps coming down the steps. He jolted up to attention immediately, thinking it was Technoblade or Phil. Most of the crew is above deck and Technoblade never sends them to get George so his nerves were pretty wound up. The Captain enjoyed leisure sometimes but sleeping when you’re not supposed to will get you in hot waters. Weirdly, neither Phil or Technoblade was the one coming closer.

“Who the hell are you?” George had never seen this man in his life, although that’s not saying much it’s still pretty weird to see a new face after 15 years. Well, not a face, but a mask.

The man was incredibly tall. He was wearing a yellow waistcoat, which is probably incorrect considering his eyes were messed up. He doesn’t know why, he just doesn’t see color the same way as other people. Anyways, the man was wearing clothes similar to the captain, but a lot less lavish and definitely different colors so he assumed the man was also a captain. What stood out the most was the white mask covering the man’s face. It had a simple smile on it and George grew panicked as it turned in his direction, the wearer taking out a sword. George immediately cowered, putting his hands in front of himself in some sort of poor defense.

“Wait! Wait! Don’t kill me! I’m not even an official part of the crew!” He sputtered, hoping it would get the man to stop advancing on him. The stranger stopped and crossed his arms as the mask tilted to the side in thought. George was pleading with any higher force to get him out of this situation and back to his normal routine. It wasn’t so bad if everything went right most days. Just constant, mind-numbing, monotony….maybe death wouldn’t be so bad as he initially thought.

Luckily or not for him, the man put his sword away and finally spoke.

“Okay. I won’t hurt you. I will offer you a choice however.” The man uncrossed his arms and extended a hand. “You can come with me or stay here. I don’t particularly care either way.”

George was stuck in a state of confusion since the man started talking. He doesn’t really have the voice of a pirate that he’s used to. Also, why is this man interested in him enough to even offer something like that.

“Why would you say that? I don’t even know your name. Who are you?” 

“People call me Dream. Figured that since my fight with Techno went a bit better than usual, I’d come help myself to some of his loot and you seem to be the best loot around”

George flushed, not knowing if it was a compliment or an insult.

“My name is George and I’m not loot.” Dream shrugged in response and seemed to be waiting for an answer to his offer. George tried to weigh the pros and cons of going with him.

On one hand, the good one, he’d be out of the monotonous cycle of work, he’d get to meet new people, the food might be better, and he might be safe since this guy can apparently take out the captain.

On the other hand though, the new people might be jerks, the food could be worse, Technoblade might definitely get pissed which would lead to a probable drowning, and this guy said ‘better than usual’, which implies multiple fights and the loss of some of those fights. Why the man in front of him isn’t dead right now is confusing.

“Wait a minute, what you said implies multiple fights, with not all of them ending in your favor and Technoblade doesn’t leave survivors. How are you even alive?”

Dream gave it a moment before he answered, “Ah Techno and I, have reached an agreement of sort. I won’t explain anymore. You need to make a choice. Stay here or come with me?”

Curiosity took George by the reins as he gathered his final thoughts and wondered if he’d die doing this. At least if he died, he’d die doing something different, and with that, he made his choice.

“Fine. I’ll come with you, but I want answers after this!” 

Dream chuckled with a slight wheeze and nodded. “Come on then. Techno is probably gonna recover soon and I’ve never taken a person from him before.” Dream sounded excited at the idea of Technoblade getting up for round two but George definitely was not. George nodded and got out the hammock.

“Alright, let’s go,” George said, trying to seem more confident than he actually felt. This was a horrible idea but he refuses to spend another day within this godforsaken ship. Dream gave him an odd look but didn’t make any comment as he turned around with a wave of his hand.

George followed and only felt his nervousness get worse as they made their way to the upper deck.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was definitely rougher than the first but I'm glad that I got it finished. Hope you enjoy!
> 
> CW: Implied punishments, Implied panic

When they finally made it to the top. George saw that the upper deck was a mess. They were barrels turned over and broken, the mainmast seems to have a dent in it and was close to falling over. It was a bizarre sight to see. The small crew Technoblade had were beaten, most laying at the feet of who George assumed were Dream’s crew. Out of all of Technoblade’s crew, only one was looking at his attacker in defiance. He thinks his name was Wilbur.

Although beaten, nobody seemed severely injured. George kept looking around until he saw Technoblade slouched over. He looked unconscious and Philza was hovering near him like a mother hen. Thankfully, he didn’t look over at them when Dream began rounding up his crew.

“I think we’re done here. We’ll be heading out now.” Dream said loudly. The crew nodded and started walking to the ship that George suspects had bumped against Technoblade’s. Dream made no noise indication but jerked his head towards the ship when he looked at George. He nodded and followed the crew with Dream following close behind. Since no one was paying attention, no one put up a fuss about him leaving.

As they lifted the boards and began to adjust the sails to leave, George left Dream’s side and glanced around his new environment. The new ship was smaller and felt more welcoming. It had fewer sails in favor of bigger ones and seemed to be able to move faster as well. While Technoblade’s ship seemed more suited for heavy battle, Dream’s seemed ready for quick movements and agility.

After taking in the ship, George turned his attention to the crew. They were talking and joking with each other and even their Captain Dream sometimes. They seemed to be really close with each other and George suddenly felt like the odd one out. Finally, he saw that they started moving away from Technoblade’s ship and George moved a bit closer to the rails to see it go. He didn’t get too close since he was still worried about someone noticing him but it felt like an eternity before they were out of sight of each other and only then did George feel his heartbeat finally calm. He immediately felt suffocated though, when he turned around to find everybody staring at him.

“Hi?” He didn’t know what else to say with several pairs of eyes on him. One of the crew members that had a cloth tied around his head gave a small wave but said nothing in return. The staring just continued until George seriously considered jumping overboard to escape as he took a shaky step backward. Thankfully, Dream and another crew member came to his rescue.

“Back up guys! Why are you just staring at him?” Dream scoffed as he started to push his way through the crowd. The crew member with him spoke up when he finished.

“Yeah, what are you muffins even doing? That’s so rude!” Muffins? The crew member wearing mostly black clothes with what he assumed was a reddish tint crossed his arms. A few people in the crowd looked sheepish at the scolding and went about their work but a few still hung around, clearly curious. Casting one last glare at the lingering members, Dream finally turned his attention to George.

“Sorry about them. We haven’t picked up anyone new in a while and you weren’t exactly planned when we boarded Techno’s ship” Dream mentioned, having the decency to look abased. George just nodded in acknowledgment, trying to take slow deep breaths.

Reality was finally catching up with him and it wasn't feeling too great. He tried to get a grasp of the situation. He was on a different ship, with new people, with a new routine. Okay. Sure. This was the biggest change in 15 years and he only thought about it for _minutes._

George’s breathing faltered.

No, change focus. Let's see...He’s away from Technoblade! That’s good. His captain wasn’t very benevolent when it came to mistakes, he has scars to prove that. So this is better. _What if Dream is worse?_

George clenched his fist. He can handle this. It’s fine.

Okay. New plan. Don’t focus on the situation. Sit down. Look at the ocean. Focus on breathing. Deep breaths. The water is calm. He’s okay. He going to be fine. What’s touching his shoulder.

George only barely managed to hold back a scream when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He jumped back and stood up, only stumbling a little bit. He saw a mixture of concern and curiosity on Dream’s face when he finally met eyes with the man. Embarrassment flooded his entire body when he realized that he just did for all to see and he turned away.

“George? Are you okay? What was that?” Dream gently prodded. George groaned and he covered his face with his hands.

“I’m fine! Please don’t ask.” Pleading might not do much but George at least had to try.

“Okay.”

Wait what.

“What did you say?” Confusion replaced the embarrassment briefly and he looked at Dream.

“I said okay. If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine.” Oh.

“Okay…Thanks I guess.”

Dream nodded and they sat in a comfortable silence. The waves gently rocked the boat and the mist of the ocean felt nice since the Sun was at its highest peak. George sat back down and let the movements calm him completely. Until it left him tired and just a hint of anxiety in his stomach. The moment was peaceful until Dream sighed.

“I better address the elephant in the room and talk to my crew. Are you fine here?”

“Yeah. I’ll be fine. Could we talk about those answers you promised me earlier when you finish?” George crossed his arms in a half-baked attempt to seem put out. From the look on Dream’s face, he didn’t buy it.

“Sure, we can do that.” With that, George watched Dream approach his crew and got their attention so that he could start talking. George felt his body release tension he didn’t even know he was holding when nobody seemed to throw up a fuss about him being on the ship. He kept watching them until Dream was finished and started on his way back to George. That’s when he had a small thought.

How should he even address Dream? Should he just call him Dream or Captain? Captain Dream? He hasn’t heard anyone address him yet and George was at a loss. Technoblade preferred just Technoblade but he tolerated Captain. Is Dream the same? His thoughts were cut off as Dream got his attention.

“George? You doing okay?”

“Wha- Oh, yeah. I’m fine. Just wondering. What do I call you?”

“What do you mean? Just call me Dream.”

“So no Captain or Captain Dream?”

Dream wheezed at the question and shook his head.

“Definitely not. Though if it makes you feel more comfortable I’m fine with just Captain. No Captain Dream though. That just sounds weird.”

If Dream’s laugh made the corners of George’s mouth perk up, well, nobody had to know that.

“Anyways, we can talk more privately in my quarters. No one should bother us there.” His mind skidded to a halt and George could feel his face become warm.

“Hold on, y-your quarters? W-Why would we go there?” Dream looked confused at George’s question. He didn’t understand why. It’s a perfectly valid question! There was no need to go to Dream’s quarters! He didn’t know the Captain like that!

“For privacy? Unless you want someone to interrupt us every 10 minutes, my quarters are the best place to talk without issue.” Dream explained slowly as if to a child. George opened his mouth to say something but couldn’t think of anything to say to that. Getting interrupted constantly would be annoying but is his quarters really the only place they could go?!

Eventually, George just pushed through his flustered state and nodded.

“T-That makes sense. Uh, lead the way I guess.” Dream looked at him oddly one more time before turning to begin walking. As they walked over, George shook his head and tried to rid his mind of anything improper. It didn’t help when he looked up and saw the same crewmate with the cloth around his head smirking in their direction. George groaned quietly under his breath and decided to just focus on where he’s going. He’s just going to get some answers. After that, he’ll determine what to do from there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you tell when I blur the line between realistic and creative liberty? I wanna make this a bit realistic but that's turning out to be harder than I thought.
> 
> I'm not sure how long I'll make this but so far I'll just keep writing until I feel like it's done. Comments are much appreciated and leave a kudos if you like it so far! 
> 
> I'm always looking to improve so don't be shy to point out mistakes!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Anxiety Attacks (Not sure, just being safe), Implied Trauma
> 
> CW: Anxiety

When they got inside Dream’s quarters, George didn’t know what to do with his hands or his entire body for that matter. He eventually settled with holding his hands behind his back and took the opportunity to look around the room. It was decently sized but simple with a medium-sized bed placed in the corner, a desk placed in the middle, with books and maps scattered around. There were two windows in the room, one on each side of the desk which gave Dream an intimidating look when he finally sat down. That, paired with the lifeless mask the man wore made George want to leave and never look back.

Dream leaned forward in his seat against his desk and motioned for him to come over. Only when George, sweaty palms and all, was at the front of the desk did Dream start to speak.

“I’ll introduce myself properly. I’m Dream, pirate captain of the SMP for 3 years now. Been on the open seas for 8. Nice to meet you-” Dream motioned with his hands and George caught on.

“My name is George, can’t remember my last name. I’m not a pirate but I’ve been on the ocean for about 15 years now. That’s really it.”

Dream whistled, seemingly impressed and George avoided his eyes by looking at the ground.

“That’s pretty long. How old are you?”

George told him his age and Dream paused briefly, doing the math in his head. It’s didn’t take long for Dream to hum and open his mouth to ask a question. Which would undoubtedly start a conversation George did not want to have with Dream. He didn’t want to talk about anything that happened before today for that matter. What’s done is done and there’s no point in telling others because they can’t change that. So George cut him off quickly with what he hoped would satisfy the Captain enough to no question it further.

“It wasn’t by choice. Can we move on please?” George focused on keeping his breathing slow and his posture relaxed. He’s at peace with his past but it’s never going to be something that he’s eager to talk about. Thankfully, Dream nodded after studying him for a bit.

“We can. One thing I want to get out the way is where you’ll sleep for the foreseeable future. As you’ve noticed, the crew isn’t very big so we have space to spare” George nodded, waiting for him to continue even as the palms of his hands became sweaty.

“You don’t seem to do well around new people so what if I put you in a room with only one of the crew?” Dream inquired. George felt his brain crash to a halt. What? Why would he bother one of his crew to make sure George was comfortable? A highly trusted crewmate at that if they have their own room. Other than Technoblade, only Philza had that luxury. Why is Dream being so _**kind**_? He’s a pirate. Aren’t they supposed to be selfish and cruel? Aren’t they supposed to take what they want and not take no for an answer? Why does Dream seem like the opposite of that? George felt himself go into autopilot mode as he nodded at Dream once again.

“Good. I’m going to put you with my Quartermaster Sapnap. He can be a bit much sometimes but he means well and can be pretty calm more often than not.” Dream seemed pretty confident in the arrangement but all George could do was keep nodding as he stared at Dream. Since when the hell are pirates this caring? He could understand when they were out on the deck. Simple pleasantries, making sure the person he just picked up wasn’t insane.

Why was Dream everything Technoblade wasn’t?

“Well, now that that’s out of the way. We can talk about your role here.” Dream continued and George tried to actively zone back into the conversation. He somewhat succeeded and got the gist of what was being said.

He can’t pinpoint how long they spoke about it, but Dream ultimately determined that George will help out with repairs of the ship after battles since the idea of maintenance and cleaning cause a strong nausea in George’s gut.

“We don’t get damaged from battles too often but it’d be nice to have someone dedicated to the job when it does happen. It’ll just be minor repairs so nothing too big.”

With a relieved sigh, George nodded and the conversation continued. Around the end, he realized that they handled business backward. Technoblade always did short-term issues first, then long-term. Dream flipped that and addressed the long-term first and only now is getting around to the short-term matters. That helped George compartmentalize the two captains as it said a bit about their differences in priorities. Technoblade always did love living in the moment. He planned for big events but never much further.

“Okay, luckily we were already in the direction of the city, L’manburg. There we’ll get you-”

Everything he said was missed as curiosity prodded at George. “L’manburg? Where’s that?” He asked once Dream finished talked

Dream squinted his eyes at him and George squirmed under his gaze. Was that the wrong question to ask? Was he supposed to know? Technoblade never even let him on the upper deck when they docked. Ocean and ship doesn’t really teach you much about geography if you can’t see where you’re stopping.

“L’manburg? One of the biggest cities. Ruled by the bastard J’Schlatt?” George could feel sweat beading down his forehead as he didn’t recognize the name either.

“J-J’Schlatt?” He questioned timidly. George was no longer looking at Dream at this point but he could feel the incredulous stare directed his way. He felt shame flare at his cheeks as he started to feel like he should know these things. Surely he would have been told about these big cities before Technoblade happened right? He came from a smaller village but he would of at least heard of that person’s name at least?

The longer the silence carried on the more George questioned his own intelligence and whether it was his fault for the lack of seemingly vital information. It felt like ages before Dream spoke again with a noticeable sigh of exasperation.

“Alright. I’ll have Sapnap explain a brief history of this place after I introduce you two.” He concluded, although it was understandable, George couldn’t feel the smallest bit of disappointment. Naturally, the Captain can’t explain _everything_ to him but he really wasn’t looking forward to meeting this Sapnap person. George didn’t make a fuss about it though and just nodded his compliance. Dream looked satisfied with that and they moved on.

“How about I show you where you’ll be sleeping at and you can just come out when you’re settled?”

“Yeah, I can do that”

With that, the duo walked below deck and walked past a few rooms before coming to a stop in front of one. Once inside, George got to take in the look of the room. He vaguely heard Dream say his goodbyes and leave. The room wasn’t the biggest but it had enough space for two hammocks, one on each side, and a desk with a lamp in the middle of it. There was a single circular window above the desk as well. George decided to take the hammock on the right since the left had the messed up blanket.

George didn’t have anything except for the clothes on his back so he just let himself get a feel of the room before he laid back in the hammock. Finally alone, George felt a bit calmer. His hands finally stopped shaking, he couldn’t hear his heartbeat anymore, and everything seemed at peace.

Until he remembered that he’ll be meeting someone called Sapnap and get along with. He’ll have to socialize more than he ever has in 15 years with completely new people, on a new ship, heading towards a place he’s never heard of. He felt his throat close up and a small whimper forced itself out as George threw his arm over his eyes in frustration and focused on breathing once again. He ignored the way the breath hitched. He didn’t pay any mind to how his sleeves were getting wet. He refused to acknowledge the tightness in his chest. He just breathed. For however long it would take for this horrible feeling to go away. In and out. Slowly and rhythmically, he breathed.

He doesn’t know how long he laid there for, but eventually the sway of the ship gently rocking the hammock paired with his breathing lulled him enough to put him to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's finally the end of chapter 3. Hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> I really like the idea of Pirate Aus and I never see that many of them so I eventually decided to flesh out my own. Might do a mermaid one after if this one turns out okay!
> 
> Point out any typos you see! It really helps me since I don't have anyone proofreading and I mainly write at 3 am.
> 
> As always comments and/or criticism are welcome and feel free to leave a kudos if you like it so far!


	4. 4

George woke up to a gentle knocking at the door. He took a moment to get his bearings before sitting up. The room was dim and the sun was in the middle of setting. The blanket in the other hammock was different from the last time he saw it, it was now neat and folded. Someone had come in the room while he was sleeping and he hadn’t woken up. Was he that tired? The knock came again and this time George slowly moved to answer it. He still felt sluggish as the remnants of sleep tried to cling to him but he shrugged it off as he moved He was met with the white mask of the Captain looking down at him. 

“Hey, you hungry? You’ve been asleep for a while now.” Still a bit dazed, George nodded and followed Dream out the room. They didn’t have to walk long before they came to what basically boiled down to a mess hall. There were two tables with the crew sitting around and everyone was eating. It seemed a lot happier than what he was used to. George was used to just grabbing something and continuing on with his day, so when Dream invited him to sit down at one of the few tables, he was a bit thrown-off to say the least. 

When he sat down at the table someone handed him a warm loaf of bread. How was it warm? When he followed the arm up to its owner, he saw the crewmate with the cloth around his head. He stuttered out a thanks and Dream started talking.

“Sapnap, George. George, this is Sapnap. The one you’re sharing a room with.” George nodded and shook Sapnap’s hand. What a weird name, then again, he couldn’t judge much. He was surrounded by people with weird names for most of his life. 

The three sat down and began small talk. Although it mainly was Dream and Sapnap talking while George listened quietly. Despite everything, George felt himself relax around the two. The atmosphere was calm, everybody was quietly talking amongst themselves. Despite his anxiety from earlier, George zoned out and allowed himself to think during the lull. Everything was peaceful and he didn’t want the anxiety to come back full force the second it wasn’t, so he figured that trying to process everything right now was his best chance at things going smoothly from this point. So, George allowed himself to think. He thought about the situation he was in compared to now. He thought about how he came to be in each situation and the vastly different circumstances. He thought about the new captain that he was under and how he was treated better than ever before. He also thought about the similarities. It was hard to do so, but he did. He recognized that he was still on a pirate ship, surrounded by pirates that he doesn’t know. He recognized that both times it’s been the captain to steal him away from where he was. Both captains seem to be powerful and they know each other in some way. A way that wasn’t ever explained like promised.

That made George pause. Dream never explained how he knew Technoblade and how this was even possible right now. He glanced up at the pair that he sat with. Sapnap had a small smile on his face as Dream seemed to be rambling passionately about a fight he had earlier. He was very analytical but seemed excited to be talking about it. George didn’t feel right interrupting so he let out a small huff, not recognizing the light feeling in his chest. He’ll just ask later. George deserves answers, but interrupting just felt like a crime at that point. Especially when everything was so peaceful. So he continued to compare, hoping that it could settle future anxiety. 

The crew he was surrounded by now was much more friendly around each other. Technoblade’s crew wasn’t exactly at each other’s throats but they weren’t best friends either. Everyone talked to others when they were bored or needed something done, that was pretty much it. The only exception was between Philza and Technoblade but those moments were rarely meant for anyone else to see. George would quickly show himself the way out if he ever caught that captain smiling. This crew seemed to genuinely enjoy each other’s company though. As he looked around, he noticed the crew member with black clothes from earlier sitting at another table talking to someone who seemed to have a light blue tint to them, but that could be George’s eyes playing tricks on him. He continued scanning the table and saw someone who seemed to be in the same situation as Sapnap at the moment. He was wearing the typical pirate clothes with a few hints of blue, and was nodding as another person seemed to be excitedly talking to him. Though he couldn’t see it very well, he could tell that his clothes were very colorful. He noticed the colorful man was occasionally looking at their table, specifically at Sapnap before flushing and turning back to continue his rapid talking. George let a small smile come through and finally came to a conclusion. 

Maybe being here on the SMP wouldn’t be so bad.

He let himself tune back into the conversation and it looked like the conversation has shifted from Dream’s impassioned speaking to him smirking and teasing a flustered Sapnap. Noticing that George was tuned back in, Sapnap quickly turned the conversation to George.

“So George! How are you liking it so far? These few hours treating you well?” He smiled while pushing the Captain away with a hand on his face, ever so slightly jostling the mask.

Not expecting to be suddenly included, George stumbled for an answer. “Oh! Uh, yeah. It’s been pretty nice so far comparatively.”

“That’s good to hear.” Sapnap nodded, “We should be able to get you some better clothes when we dock, I’m sure Dream already told you.”

George almost nodded again but stopped at the last second. Did Dream tell him that? He quickly wracked his memory in hopes of dredging up some memory but came up with nothing. It was probably nothing that important anyways if it was about clothes.

“That reminds me. Sapnap. Could you fill him in on some history when you get the chance? He doesn’t even know who J’Schlatt is.” At Dream’s mention of this, he could feel the embarrassment from earlier setting in again. He purposely avoided eye contact when he felt Sapnap’s questioning gaze fall on him.

“Can we please not talk about why? Just fill me in so that I don’t look like an idiot anymore” George stopped all questions in their place. Although the curiosity was still there, he could see Sapnap hold his tongue after a sharp look from the Captain. 

“Alright sure. You don’t need to know everything right now cause that would take too long but I’ll fill you in on the basics.” George nodded and started to listen closely.

“J’Schlatt is the ruler of L’manburg. After the last king died with no heir, it was up to the people to decide who would rule from a few choices. Schlatt was losing until he joined together with the other losing elective. That caused their votes to pool and ultimately beat the initially winning person. Still following?” George gave a quick nod and motioned for Sapnap to continue.

“Okay, well since it wasn’t illegal to do that, being that this was the first time the people voted, it went through. His rule started off fine but went downhill. He became strict and constantly paranoid. He treats the people like shit but somehow kept the kingdom thriving.”

“He treats the people poorly? How?” It doesn’t seem like someone that high up would have the time or want to interact with people beneath them.

“He doesn’t like certain types of magic users and the ones he does like he forces to work for him under threat of their loved ones. It’s really fucked up man but no one has been able to stand up to him since he keeps the city safe and thriving.” 

George hummed in understanding. So the J’Schlatt discriminated against magic people. Yeah, that’s pretty bad- wait. Magic?

George sat up straight and immediately fired off questions. “Magic? What do you mean magic? Evil magic? Holy magic? Voodoo magic? No one has said anything about magic.”

Sapnap looked shocked at the sudden barrage but tried to keep up.

“Yes, magic. You know? The thing that’s been around for centuries? There’s all types. Evil and Holy are widely debated but Voodoo is super rare man.” George let out a small sigh.

“Oh, yeah I know those. Holy magic is blessings, Evil magic is deals with the devil, and Voodoo is the stuff with the dolls, right? I don’t know much but we didn’t call it magic last I remembered.” Sapnap stared at him as if he had two heads and Dream was just as bad. George felt like he was missing something.

“No. I mean actual magic.” Sapnap held out his hand in front of George. All of a sudden there was fire. George screamed and leaped back, falling out of his chair. He could see everyone looking in their direction and Dream moved around the table quickly to help him up. George could only look at the flame in Sapnap’s hand. There was a tightness in his chest, the flame doesn’t bring back great memories. The room was too small. Sapnap closed his hand, extinguishing the flames, leaving George stunned, unable to answer as Dream continuously asked if he was okay. He shook his head before taking a step back.

Right. Of course. Magic. 

With a small apology, he excused himself and walked outside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that took forever to get out. Sorry about that! I started classes and it really eats up my time and motivation. I'm still working on it though and I'm also taking Creative Writing! So that should definitely help in the long run.
> 
> Btw, I have Twitter! You can find it in my bio. My confidence in my writing is not the highest so don't expect any self-promotion there but I figured I'd mention it. 
> 
> Anyways I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm starting to think ahead but I'm just having a bit of trouble connecting the dots so expect good things in the future!

**Author's Note:**

> Unless I say it's discontinued, this fic will update at some point so don't worry! It may take a bit but it will be updated! 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this and I really look forward to any comments and suggestions for the fic. Ask any questions if you're confused somewhere! Remember to leave a kudos if you like!


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